Diy ups?

[pterfloth]

Does anyone have any plans or suggestions for a DIY UPS (uninterruptible power supply) that will provide several hours of back-up power? I have a small 400w commercial unit that only provides minutes of back-up power. All I want to do is keep my return pump running (90 watts) so that I can keep some flow going.

Every fall/winter we get power outages and I would like to get prepared. A generator will not work for me because I am often out of town.

Your expertise would be much appreciated. Googling hasn't been much help.

[sphelps]

Sounds like you need some tips on how to use search engines :wink:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=64918

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1628194&highlight=battery+backup

Just a couple links that seemed pretty good but I didn't really read them.

[AndyL]

If you've already got one - easy answer becomes you just need more battery capacity :)

Split'r open, see what kind of batteries you've got from the factory and post pictures of the battery packs/cells (look for the AH or mAH ratings) - I'm sure we can come up with a way to add ridiculous capacity to that UPS :mrgreen:

Or just head over to costco, grab yourself a couple pairs of 6v golf cart batteries, a true sine wave inverter and one of them there newfangled 'smart' battery chargers... If they can run my RV for 10 days, should be able to handle that pump for a few weeks :D

[pterfloth]

Thanks for your input. I got a great idea from RC I will use. Take a 12 volt marine battery with a 12 volt bilge pump hooked to a NC relay. Tee the bilge pump with a check valve into the return. This will provide hours and hours of backup flow.